Alamelu Vairavan, a Whitefish Bay resident, is an author and culinary instructor. Alamelu has a passion for educating the public about the use of spices and legumes in preparing healthy and tasty foods. She is also interested in educating the public about the growing research that points to the enormous health benefits of spices in preventing many diseases. Her mission is to enrich people's culinary experience and to inspire them to discover that cooking and sharing healthful foods can be an especially joyful experience.

Cauliflower is a large flower and is a cruciferous vegetable. Other cruciferous vegetables are cabbage, Brussels sprouts, kale, and broccoli. All the above cruciferous vegetables are green in color, but cauliflower is milky white. The leaves of the plant cover the cauliflower as it is maturing, and the flower is shielded from the sun depriving it of chlorophyll. Cauliflower is an excellent source of vitamins, potassium, folate and dietary fiber!

Many of you may already know that I am passionate about promoting healthful eating. As a community service, I am offering at the Whitefish Bay Library three culinary presentations that are open to the public. Details are shown below. You can contact the library for registration.

The release of the movie “Julie & Julia” and the renewed great interest in the remarkable Chef Julia Child bring back to me fond memories of an unexpected and a thrilling experience in 1997. That was the year my first cook book (Art of South Indian Cooking) was published. My New York publisher had arranged for me to appear on the national television show, “Home Matters”. Can you believe that Julia Child was also featured in the same show?

As we celebrate, with joy and pride, our independence day on July 4, another date is also of significance for us: August 15. It is India’s independence day. Both US and India obtained their independence from the same country: Britain. India’s freedom in 1947 came much later than America’s.